Illuminating device



July 2, 1935. M. ADAMS ET AL ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed July 9, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 WW I I INVENTORS BY flit/r ATTORNEYS July 2, 1935. M. ADAMS ET AL ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed July 9, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 flax/d2 Ad -ms Rab awe 7:12am! fill;

INVENTORS MMr BY f/eir ATTORNEYS July 2, 1935. ADAMS Er AL 2,006,820

ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed July 9, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS m 6 BY 2%,? ATTORNEYS A 7 Patented July 2, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 2,006,820 ELUMINATING DEVICE Maude Adams and Raymond F. Howe, New York, N. Y., and Perley G. Nutting, Washington, D. 0.

Application July 9, 1931, Serial No. 549,680

11 Claims.

This invention relates to illuminating devices, and with particularity to high powered incandescent lamps.

The invention is in the nature of an improvement upon the type of lamp shown in the patent of Raymond Howe, Patent No. 1,936,762, issued November 28, 1933, and is relatedto the lamps shown in our Patent No. 1,884,957, issued October 25, 1932.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel method of supporting the filament of a high powered incandescent lamp so that the said lamp may be used in a tilted position without danger of the filament or filament supports sagging.

Another object of the invention is to provide an incandescent lamp wherein the filament is supported within the lamp from opposite ends thereof, and is at the same time capable of expanding and contracting without causing strain on the lamp wall.

A feature of the invention resides in an improved manner of supporting the filament of an incandescent lamp in the wall or other portion of the lamp envelope.

A further feature relates to the novel organization and arrangement of elements which go to make up an eficient high powered incandescent lamp wherein the filament is supported in substantially all directions so as to prevent any appreciable sagging or tilting movement thereof. At the same time the filament is free to expand longitudinally and laterally.

Dther features and advantages not specifically enumerated will be apparent after a consideration of the following detail description and the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a high powered incandescent lamp embodying one form of filament support according to the invention;

Fig. 1 is a detail end View of a portion of the lamp of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 shows a modified manner of supporting the filament at the upper end thereof;

Figs. 3 and 4 show still further modifications of the manner of supporting the incandescent filament at its upper end;

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views of the structure of Fig. 4, taken along the lines 55 and 6-6 thereof.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a high powered incandescent lamp of the type disclosed in the application of Raymond Howe, referred to hereinabove, and for the sake of simplicity, the corresponding parts of the lamp of Fig. 1 and the lamp shown in said Howe application will be designated by the same numerals. The lamp comprises in general an evacuated envelope l, which may be bulb-shaped, cylindricalshaped, or any other shape desired. This envelope may, although not necessarily, contain a filling of an inert gas such as nitrogen or the like. The incandescent member 2 may be in the form of a closely coiled tungsten wire comprising six separate sections disposed parallel to each other in substantially the same plane, and with the said sections connected in series. Attached to the constricted end 3 of the envelope l is a reentrant portion 4 which carries integral therewith the seal-in supports 5 and 6 through which pass the metallic rods 9 and In, it being understood that the said rods are hermetically sealed into the supports 5 and 6. While the drawings show a single pair of supports 5 and 6 and associated rods t and II), it will be understood that these supports and rods may be arranged in pairs to provide a frame as disclosed in the said Howe application. Preferably, also the rods 9 are of a heat resisting material such as tungstem. or the like, and have the same coeificient of expansion as the members 5 and 6 so that a single rod of the same material may be employed as a lead-in and as the support.

As described in detail in said Howe application the supports 5 and In at their upper ends are bent at right angles and are rigidly attached the form of a long narrow block of zirconia or other heat-resisting insulating material. A similar block of insulation 32 is supported transversely below the block from the supports 9 and I0. Passing through the upper insulation support 15 is a pair of filament hooks 29, these hooks being preferably of the type disclosed in said Howe application, and being provided at their lower ends with hook portions 30 to receive and support the upper ends of the filament coils. The lower ends of the filament coils are prevented from tilting by means of hook members 35 which. are fastened in any suitable manner to the block 32 and are provided with looped portions 36 and 31 so as to freely receive the lower ends of the filament coils as described in detail in said Howe application. The electrical ends of the filament coils are welded or otherwise fastened respective-- ly to the supports 9 and In so as to enable the heating current to be passed through the filament when the lamp is connected in circuit. If I desired, an additional cross piece of insulation is rigidly sealed into the portion ii of the enveintermediate the members II and l! may be provided to support the filament at its central portion, as disclosed in Howe application, Serial No. 543,034, filed June 9, 1931. a

The above described arrangement has been found to provide a satisfactory means for supporting the filament 2 against sagging when said filament is heated to incandescenoe. Furthermore, the particular manner of supporting and anchoring the filament enables the filament to expand longitudinally and laterally without exerting any excessive strains upon either the insulators i5, 32, or the supports I and I0. However, it has been found that in very high powered lamps of the type disclosed, for example in a lamp of from 1 k. w. to 30 k. w., the heat of the filament when the lamp is running and the weight thereof are so great as to considerably limit the angle at which the lamp can be used. In many instances it is highly desirable to use the lamp in a tilted position and even in a horizontal position. Accordingly, the structure shown in Fig. 1 may be provided witha member II which is fastened into the constricted portion or tubulation ll of the lamp envelope I. The member I is preferably provided with projections "so as to increase the hold or seal between the said member I. and the glass of the tubulation t l The member ll terminates at its lower end in a portion ll, the side members SI and 6 5 of which loosely pass through corresponding holes in the insulator ll. However, the opening in the portion I is of materially greater size than the thickness of the insulator I5, so that the said insulator 'is capable of movement in an up and down direction relatively to the member 60. Since the member ll lope the said member 60 prevents the insulator II from tilting with respect to the longitudinal axis of the lamp. Consequently since the filament is supported from the insulator II, the lamp as a whole may be used in any position, even in a horizontal position, without danger of the filament assembly saggingpr tilting. There is thus provided a lamp structure wherein a heavy filament may be used and operated at high temperatures without danger of the filament. sagging, short-oirculting, breaking, etc., when the lamp is used in a non-vertical position. While the drawings show the member OI as fiat, this member mayberound oranyotherdesired shapeincross section.

Themanner of assemblingthelampshownin Fig. 1 will follow ordinary lamp practice, in which case the portion Ii, if desired, may to the well known exhaust tubulation and after the exhaustion of the lamp is completed, the

said tubulation u may be heated and sealed off and at the same time pressed against the support 60. However, instead of exhausting the lamp I from the tubulation ii, the lamp may be provided with an exhaust tubulation at the portion 4 thereof, as is well known in so-called tipless lamps, in which case the portion" will simply be a closed portion of the lamp envelope of constricted diameter to receive the member II which may be pressed, swaged, or otherwise sea-led into the 81888.

the constricted portion ll of the envelope I. The said constricted portion is hollow except at the point ll where the lamp may be sealed off. Therefore, the member 60 is free to slide in the portion ll and at the same time, due to the engagement of the member 60 with the walls of the portion 6|, the said member acts as a brace to support the filament assembly as above described in connection with Fig. 1. In this modification, however, the expansions and contractions of the filament are not transmitted through the member 80 to the glass of the envelope, and the filament is, therefore, free to expand without any danger of breaking the glass of the envelope.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a still further modification along the lines of the modification shown in Fig. 2. In this figure the member 60 may be made in the form of a square or round bar which is adapted to telescope with a corresponding hollow member 66. A spring 61 is seated within the member 66 and provides a resilient connection between the said members 60 and 81. Therefore, as the filament assembly expands and contracts there is no danger of the member 60 expanding sufficiently to break the. glass 65, since the pressure is taken up by the spring 61.' It will be understood, of course, that the arrangement shown 'in Fig. 3 .is merely schematic and that any equivalent manner of providing'a resilient connection between the members 60 and II maybe employed, so long as the said members provide sufllcientlateral rigidity to prevent the filament assembly sagging.

Referring to Figs. 4, band 6, there is shown a preferred manner of supporting the filament assembly. In these figuresthe filament assembly may be the same as that-disclosed in connection with Figs. 1 to 3, and therefore corresponding parts are designated by the same numerals. In these figures the filament assembly is supported at its upper end by means of a brace structure comprising a pair of metal strip members 68 and 80.- Each of these members passes around the;

insulator bar l5, preferably, although not necessarily, in the manner shown in Fig. 6, and if desired the. said members can be welded or other-- wise rigidly fastened to said insulating bar. The upwardly extending legs of the members and I! are welded or otherwise fastened to a rectangular shaped ring member 10, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. The member III is adapted to enter a correspondingly shaped constricted .portion II of the lamp envelope, it being understood that sufiicient clearance is left between the upper end of the brace and the wall of the envel ope to allow for the maximum expanding movement of the filament. This arrangement therefore provides a relativelysimple and strong support for the filament assembly, and there is very little likelihood of the said assembly sagging when'the lamp is used in a non-vertical position.

The members 60 of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and the members 68, 69, iii are preferably made out of a heat resistant material such as tungsten or.the

While specific ways of supporting the upper end of the filament assembly with relation to the glass envelope are shown in the figures of the drawings, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, the invention broadly consisting in the idea of providing an incandescent lamp with means for supporting a relatively heavy filament assembly at both ends of the lamp and interiorly thereof, the support at one end being freely movable with respect to the longitudinal axis of the lamp so as to allow for expanding of the heated parts without placing any undue strain upon the glasswork of the lamp.

Furthermore, while a coiled filament lamp is shown, any other type of filament may be employed such as a ribbon filament, a looped filament, etc.

Other modifications and changes may be made in the structures disclosed in the drawings without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. v

For example instead of employing a single rod 60 for supporting the filament assembly against sagging, two or more rods may be employed as shown in Fig. 2 Furthermore, instead of employing the specific structure comprising the members 63, 64 and 65 for anchoring the rod, the said rods may be merely provided with lateral projections 60a, 601), as shown in Fig. 2 to prevent their becoming dislodged from the insulator l5.

In thecase of extremely high powered lamps it may happen that the supporting member or members 60 will after a time reach a higher temperature than the constricted portion SI of the envelope. In order therefore to protect the gas at this portion of the envelope from the heat of the member 60, the said member or members may be provided with an insulating wrapping such as asbestos or the like. Or if desired, the said members 60 may be provided with resilient metallic members such as coiled or leaf springs for limiting the area of contact with the glass of the envelope. Thus there is shown in Fig. 2 one of the members 60 so as to attach theretoat its upper end a coiled spring 600. This spring 600 may be of gradually increasing diameter so that only one, or a few turns thereof actually come into contact with the glass 6 I. Instead of using a coiled spring, one or more leaf strings may be attached to the member 60 to limit the area of contact with the glass, or if desired, the member 60 itself may be provided with a corrugated surface or even with points, so as to limit the area of contact with the glass without affecting the rigidity of the support.

If springs such as 600 are employed the said springs are preferably made out of high heat resisting material such as nichrome, molybdenum or the like.

What is claimed is:

1. A lamp comprising an evacuated envelope, a frame structure including a pair of metallic uprights arising from one end of said envelope, 9. pair of insulation cross pieces supported between said uprights, an incandescent member supported from said cross pieces, and means at the opposite end of the envelope to support said frame structure against lateral displacement while permitting longitudinal expansion and contraction of the incandescent member.

2. A lamp according to claim 1 in which the said means supported from the said opposite end of said envelope slidably engages one of said cross pieces.

3. A lamp according to claim 1 in which the said means supported from the said opposite end of the envelope is provided with a looped portion surrounding the upper cross piece.

4. A lamp comprising an evacuated envelope, a filament assembly, said assembly being supported at one end of said envelope, the other end of said envelope having a constricted portion, a hollow tubular member adapted to fit within said constricted portion, for longitudinal movement therein, but held against lateral movement, and a rigid connection between said member and said filament assembly for supporting said assembly against tilting when the lamp is used in a nonvertical position.

5. A lamp according to claim 4 in which said member is provided with a pair of spaced arms engaging said filament assembly.

6. A lamp comprising an evacuated envelope, a plural coiled filament, a metal frame arising from one end of said envelope, said frame supporting at its upper ends a transverse strip'of insulation. from which the filament coils are suspended, a substantially rigid rod supported by said strip and projecting into a constricted portion at the opposite end of said envelope to prevent said filament sagging when the lamp is used in a non-vertical position while permitting longitudinal expansion and contraction of the filament coils.

7. A lamp according to claim 6 in which the said rod fits slidably within the constricted por tion of the envelope.

8. A lamp according to claim 6 in which said rod is surrounded at its upper end with means for protecting the glass of the envelope from the heat of said rod.

9. A lamp according to claim 6 in which said lamp is surrounded at its upper end with a resilient member for limiting the area of contact with the glass of said constricted portion.

10. A lamp comprising a heavy coil filament, an evacuated envelope in which said filament is mounted, means for substantially rigidly supporting said filament at one end of said envelope and means for substantially rigidly supporting said filament at the other end of said envelope, the last mentioned means including a tubular metallic member attached to the filament assembly and a constricted portion of said envelope corresponding in shape to said tubular member and in which said tubular member is received for longitudinal movement therein.

11. A lamp comprising an evacuated envelope, a heavy luminescent member formed in sections disposed in parallel relation within said envelope, rigid means for supporting'said member from one end of said envelope, and rigid movable means for supporting the other end of said member from the opposite end of said envelope, said means being movable in a direction longitudinal of said sections and rigid in a lateral direction, whereby the luminescent member is prevented from sagging when the lamp is placed in a horizontal position.

MAUDE ADAMS. RAYMOND F. HOWE. PERLEY G. NU'I'I'ING. 

